Postcards from Arizona - March 2001

Click on each picture for a larger version.

MontezumaMontezuma never made it this far north, but the early settlers thought he did and so named this Sanagua Indian cliff dwelling Montezuma Castle. Nearby Montezuma's Well is a lake fed from a natural spring with a flow of 1.5 million gallons a day. The Indians used the water for irrigation.

Red Rock State Park

A picture that sums up the two main purposes of the holiday - Scenery and local beer (In this case from the Oak Creek Brewery) on the balcony of a pub in Sedona.

Walnut Canyon, where a large population of Indians lived in dwellings cut into the cliffs - what a strange existence.

The strange volcanic landscape with black ash underfoot at Sunset Crater
An ancient Indian building at Wukoki.

The Grand CanyonWe took a flight over the canyon. (Note for film buffs - The cliff edge from Thelma and Louise is in the picture second from the left.)

These views are from various locations on the South Rim.

Monument ValleySpectacular rock formations in this area, where many western films have been made.

Meteor CraterNot as large as I had imagined, but impressive nonetheless. All the Apollo astronauts trained here. In the bottom of the crater are the remains of mining operations - the first man to realise that this was a meteor impact believed that the meteor, made of 92% iron, would be buried just below the crater floor. In fact, of course, the meteor was blown to smithereens on impact.

A Musical Interlude

Well, I'm a standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona,
And such a fine sight to see,
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford,
Slowin' down to take a look at me
Jackson Browne/Glenn Frey

Since the famous Route 66 through the town was bypassed by Interstate 40 this place has gone downhill, its sole claim to fame being the mention in an Eagles song.